1
“This is what you shall do to them, to consecrate them, that they may serve as priests to Me: Take one young bull and two rams without blemish,
2
unleavened bread, and unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil; of fine wheat flour you shall make them all.
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You shall put them all in one basket and present them in the basket, along with the bull and the two rams.
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Then you shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and you shall wash them with water.
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Then you shall take the garments and put on Aaron the tunic, the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastpiece; and you shall bind the ephod’s skillfully woven band on him.
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You shall set the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban.
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Then you shall take the anointing oil and pour it on his head, and anoint him.
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You shall bring his sons near and put tunics on them.
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You shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and bind headbands on them; and they shall hold the priest’s office. This shall be a lasting ordinance. Thus you shall ordain Aaron and his sons.
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Then you shall bring the bull before the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the bull.
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You shall slaughter the bull before the LORD at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
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You shall take some of the blood of the bull and put it with your finger on the horns of the altar, and all the rest of the blood you shall pour out at the base of the altar.
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Then you shall take all the fat that covers the entrails, the appendage of the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and burn them on the altar.
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But the flesh of the bull, its skin, and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.
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Then you shall take the one ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.
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You shall slaughter the ram and take its blood and throw it against the altar all around.
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You shall cut the ram into its pieces, wash its entrails and its legs, and place them on its pieces and on its head.
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Then you shall burn the whole ram on the altar; it is a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, a food offering to the LORD.
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Then you shall take the other ram, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on the head of the ram.
20
You shall slaughter the ram, take some of its blood, and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on the lobe of his sons’ right ears, and on the thumb of their right hands, and on the big toe of their right feet; and the rest of the blood you shall pour out around the altar.
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You shall take some of the blood that is on the altar and some of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it on Aaron and on his garments, and also on his sons and on the garments of his sons; and he shall be holy, he and his garments, and also his sons and the garments of his sons.
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From the ram you shall take the fat, the fat tail, the fat that covers the entrails, the appendage of the liver, the two kidneys, and the fat that is on them, and the right thigh — for it is the ram of ordination —
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you shall also take one loaf of bread, one oiled cake, and one wafer from the basket of unleavened bread that is before the LORD.
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You shall put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons, and shall present them as a wave offering before the LORD.
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Then you shall take them from their hands and burn them on the altar, on top of the burnt offering, as a pleasing aroma before the LORD; it is a food offering to the LORD.
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You shall also take the breast of the ram of Aaron’s ordination and present it as a wave offering before the LORD, and it shall be your portion.
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Thus you shall consecrate the breast of the wave offering and the thigh of the contribution offering, which is offered from the ram of Aaron’s ordination and from that of his sons.
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It shall belong to Aaron and his sons by a perpetual statute for the children of Israel, for it is a contribution; and it shall be a contribution from the children of Israel, taken from their peace offerings, their contribution to the LORD.
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Aaron’s holy garments shall pass to his sons after him, so that they may wear them when they are anointed and ordained.
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For seven days the priest who succeeds him from among his sons shall wear them, when he enters the Tent of Meeting to minister in the holy place.
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You shall take the ram of ordination, and boil its flesh in a holy place.
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And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the Tent of Meeting.
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They shall eat those things by which atonement was made at their ordination and consecration; but a layman shall not eat them, because they are holy.
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If any of the flesh of the ordination offering, or of the bread, remains until the morning, then you shall burn what remains with fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
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Thus you shall do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; seven days you shall ordain them.
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Every day you shall offer a bull as a sin offering for atonement, and you shall cleanse the altar by making atonement for it; and you shall anoint it to consecrate it.
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Seven days you shall make atonement for the altar, and consecrate it; and the altar shall be most holy. Whatever touches the altar shall become holy.”
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“Now this is what you shall offer on the altar: two lambs a year old, day by day continually.
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One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.
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With the one lamb you shall offer one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of beaten oil, and a drink offering of one-fourth of a hin of wine.
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The other lamb you shall offer at twilight; as with the grain offering and its drink offering in the morning, so you shall offer it as a pleasing aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD,
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a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tent of Meeting before the LORD. There I will meet with you, to speak with you.
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There I will meet with the children of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory.
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I will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the altar; and I will sanctify Aaron and his sons to minister to me as priests.
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I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
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They shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell among them; I am the LORD their God.”
🩸🕊️🔥 Summary of Exodus 29 – The Ordination of the Priests and the Consecration of Holy Service
Exodus 29 describes the ordination ceremony of Aaron and his sons as priests. This ceremony is full of symbols of cleansing, consecration, and total surrender to God.
1. Preparation for Ordination (verses 1–3)
- The materials are prepared: a bull, two rams, unleavened bread, and cakes made of flour.
- Aaron and his sons must be brought before the Holy Tent and washed.
2. Putting on the Holy Garments (verses 4–9)
- Aaron was clothed with the ephod, the sash, the breastpiece, and the crown.
- Aaron’s sons were also given priestly garments.
- This shows that they were appointed and set apart for holy service.
3. The Ordination Offering (verses 10–28)
A. The Bull as a Sin Offering
- Hands were laid on the head of the bull (a symbol of the transfer of sin), then it was slaughtered.
- Its blood was put on the horns of the altar and poured out at the base of the altar.
- Its flesh was burned outside the camp as an atonement for sin.
B. The Ram as a Burnt Offering
- It was burned completely as an offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord—showing total surrender.
C. The Second Ram as the Ordination Offering
- Blood was put on the right ear, the thumb of the right hand, and the big toe of the right foot of Aaron and his sons—signifying that their hearing, actions, and walk were dedicated to the Lord.
- Part of the meat was eaten by Aaron and his sons as part of fellowship and consecration.
4. The Bread and Daily Offering (verses 29–46)
- The bread and certain portions of the meat were eaten in a holy place.
- Aaron’s garments were to be worn by the priest who succeeded him after his death.
- The burnt offering was to be presented twice each day (morning and evening) continually.
- The Lord promised:
“I will dwell among the children of Israel and will be their God.”
📖 Main Teaching
- Service to the Lord must come through cleansing and self-surrender.
- The priesthood is not an ordinary calling—it is a holy task full of responsibility.
✨ Spiritual Meaning
- Aaron’s ordination points to Jesus as the Great High Priest who is fully consecrated by the Father to save us (Hebrews 7:26–28).
- The laying on of hands and the sin offering symbolize the transfer of human sin onto the sacrifice, which was perfectly fulfilled in the death of Christ.
- The blood on the ear, hand, and foot reminds us to hear, work, and walk in holiness.
- The daily offering symbolizes ongoing commitment in worship and a life pleasing to the Lord.
